2014 United States Senate election in Maine

The 2014 United States Senate election in Maine took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had served in the position since 1997, won election to a fourth term in office with 68% of the vote.^[1][2] The primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.

2014 United States Senate election in Maine

← 2008 November 4, 2014 (2014-11-4) 2020 →

Nominee Susan Collins Shenna Bellows Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 413,495 190,244 Percentage 68.46% 31.50%

County results Municipality results Congressional district results Collins:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Bellows:      50–60%      60–70%      >90%

U.S. senator before election Susan Collins Republican Elected U.S. Senator Susan Collins Republican

As of 2025, this was the last time a Republican won the counties of Cumberland and Knox in a statewide election and the last time any party carried every county in Maine.^[3]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Susan Collins, incumbent U.S. Senator^[4][5]

Write-in candidates

• Erick Bennett, conservative activist and director of the Maine Equal Rights Center (unenrolled as a Republican, see Campaign section)^[6][7][8]

Declined

• Scott D'Amboise, former Lisbon Falls Selectman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012^[9]
• Bruce Poliquin, former State Treasurer, candidate for Governor in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 (ran for ME-02)^[10]
• Mark Willis, former Maine Republican National Committeeman^[9]

Campaign

Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennett was critical of Erick Bennett's campaign, stating that he did not believe Erick would get the necessary signatures to get on the ballot. After making it clear the two men are not related, Rick felt that this would be due to Erick's views as expressed on his Facebook page. These included referring to U.S. Representative Mike Michaud as a "closet homo" and criticism of Nelson Mandela, comparing him to Stalin and Karl Marx.^[11] Furthermore, Erick Bennett was convicted in 2003 of assaulting his wife, which was upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, though he maintains his innocence.^[12] Rick Bennett stated that Erick's views "do not represent the views of the Republican Party".^[11]

Erick Bennett announced before the primary filing deadline on March 17 that he had left the Republican Party and would run as an independent.^[6] Maine law, however, requires that an independent candidate must have not been in a political party by March 1 of the election year in order to run as an independent, meaning Bennett cannot legally run as such.^[13] The Kennebec Journal reported that Bennett was a write-in candidate for the Republican nomination.^[8]

On April 3, 2014, Collins' campaign announced the joint endorsement of Bath Iron Works' labor unions, which the campaign claimed was the first time the unions issued a joint endorsement as well as the first time they endorsed a Republican candidate for federal office.^[14]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Bruce Poliquin	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[15]	August 23–25, 2013	321	± 5.5%	64%	24%	12%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Charlie Summers	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[16]	January 18–20, 2013	430	± 4.7%	58%	31%	—	11%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins	Someone more conservative	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[16]	January 18–20, 2013	430	± 4.7%	49%	46%	—	6%
Public Policy Polling[15]	August 23–25, 2013	321	± 5.5%	47%	48%	—	5%
Public Policy Polling[17]	November 8–11, 2013	331	± 5.4%	48%	44%	—	7%

Hypothetical polling

Results

Republican primary results^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Susan Collins (incumbent)	59,767	100.00%
Total votes			59,767	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Shenna Bellows, former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine^[19][20]

Declined

• Emily Cain, state senator (ran for ME-02)^[21]
• Mike Michaud, U.S. Representative (ran for Governor)^[22]

Results

Democratic primary results^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shenna Bellows	65,085	100.00%
Total votes			65,085	100.00%

Independents

To qualify as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, a candidate needs to submit at least 4,000 valid signatures to the secretary of state by June 1. Any independent candidate must not have been enrolled in a political party after March 1 of the year the election occurs.^[23]

Former Republican candidate Erick Bennett announced just before the March 17 primary filing deadline that he had left the Republican Party and would run as an independent, but Maine law required him to have unenrolled as a Republican by March 1 to do so. Therefore, he could not legally run as an independent.^[6][13]

Candidates

Declared

• Erick Bennett, conservative activist and director of the Maine Equal Rights Center (unenrolled as a Republican, see Campaign section)^[6]

Declined

• Mike Turcotte, adjunct professor at Eastern Maine Community College^[24]

General election

Background

Heading into the 2014 cycle, only 12 U.S. Senate elections had involved two major party female nominees in U.S. history.^[25]

Candidates

• Shenna Bellows (Democratic), former executive director of the Maine ACLU
• Susan Collins (Republican), incumbent U.S. Senator

Endorsements

Susan Collins (R)

Politicians

• Angus King, U.S. Senator (I-ME)^[26]
• Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator (D-WV)^[27]
• Rand Paul, U.S. Senator (R-KY)^[28]

Unions

• Bath Marine Draftsman's Association^[14]
• Independent Guards Association^[14]
• International Association of Machinists Local S6 and S7^[14]
• Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 35^[29]

Organizations

• Americans for Responsible Solutions^[30]
• Human Rights Campaign^[31]

Newspapers

• Bangor Daily News^[32]

Shenna Bellows (D)

Politicians and other individuals

• Justin Alfond, President of the Maine Senate^[33]
• Tom Andrews, former U.S. Representative (D-ME)^[34]
• Michael Douglas, actor^[35]
• Barney Frank, former U.S. Representative (D-MA)^[34]
• Tess Gerritsen, author^[33]
• Stephen King, author ^[36]
• Mike Michaud. U.S. Representative (D-ME), candidate for Governor^[34]
• Bob Monks, shareholder activists^[33]
• Chellie Pingree, U.S. Representative (D-ME)^[34]
• Donald Sussman, philanthropist and financier, husband of Rep. Pingree^[33]

Unions

• American Postal Worker Union^[37]
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers^[37]
• Iron Workers Local 7^[37]
• LIUNA Local 327^[37]
• Maine AFL-CIO^[38]
• Maine State Nurses Association^[37]
• Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council^[37]
• Teamsters Local 340^[37]
• United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 716^[37]
• United Steelworkers Local 449^[37]

Organizations

• Alliance for Retired Americans^[34]
• Council for a Livable World^[34]
• Democracy for America^[39]
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee^[34]
• EMILY's list^[40]
• Feminist Majority^[34]
• Freethought Equality Fund PAC ^[41]
• Maine People's Alliance^[34]
• Marijuana Policy Project^[42]
• MoveOn^[34]
• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws^[42]
• National Organization for Women^[34]
• People for the American Way^[34]
• Progressive Change Campaign Committee^[43]
• Students for a New American Politics^[44]

Declined to endorse

• MaineToday Media newspapers^[45]
• Sportsman's Alliance of Maine^[46]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[47]	Solid R	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[48]	Safe R	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[49]	Safe R	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[50]	Safe R	November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Shenna Bellows (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[17]	November 8–11, 2013	964	± 3.2%	59%	20%	—	22%
Rasmussen Reports[51]	April 23–25, 2014	830	± 3%	60%	24%	6%	9%
University of New Hampshire[52]	June 12–18, 2014	527	± 4.3%	72%	17%	—	10%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[53]	July 5–24, 2014	1,356	± 2.7%	63%	28%	2%	6%
Public Policy Polling*[54]	August 16–18, 2014	679	± 3.8%	57%	33%	—	10%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[55]	August 18 – September 2, 2014	1,202	± 4%	58%	26%	3%	12%
Rasmussen Reports[56]	September 3–4, 2014	750	± 4%	59%	31%	2%	7%
University of New Hampshire[57]	September 18–25, 2014	482	± 4.4%	59%	29%	—	11%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[58]	September 20 – October 1, 2014	1,531	± 3%	57%	33%	1%	9%
Pan Atlantic SMS[59]	September 23–29, 2014	400	± 4.9%	68%	25%	—	7%
Bangor Daily News/Ipsos[60]	October 6–12, 2014	540 LV	± 4.8%	56%	31%	5%[61]	7%
		903 RV	± 3.7%	53%	31%	7%[62]	10%
University of New Hampshire[63]	October 15–21, 2014	667	± 3.8%	65%	30%	—	4%
Pan Atlantic SMS[64]	October 15–21, 2014	400	± 4.9%	67%	27%	—	7%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[58]	October 16–23, 2014	1,177	± 5%	54%	35%	0%	10%
Bangor Daily News/Ipsos[65]	October 23–29, 2014	488	± 5.1%	64%	32%	2%	3%
Maine People's Resource Center[66]	October 31 – November 2, 2014	906	± 3.25%	57%	37%	—	5%

• * Internal poll for Shenna Bellows campaign

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Eliot Cutler (I)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[15]	August 23–25, 2013	953	± 3.2%	53%	33%	14%
Maine People's Resource Center[67]	September 8–10, 2013	652	± 3.84%	58%	28%	14%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Stephen King (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[15]	August 23–25, 2013	953	± 3.2%	54%	31%	15%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Mike Michaud (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[16]	January 18–20, 2013	1,268	± 2.8%	54%	36%	10%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Chellie Pingree (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[16]	January 18–20, 2013	1,268	± 2.8%	58%	33%	9%
Public Policy Polling[15]	August 23–25, 2013	953	± 3.2%	57%	34%	9%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Collins (R)	Generic Democrat	Undecided
Maine People's Resource Center[67]	September 8–10, 2013	652	± 3.84%	60%	26%	15%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bruce Poliquin (R)	Chellie Pingree (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[15]	August 23–25, 2013	953	± 3.2%	33%	47%	20%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Charlie Summers (R)	Mike Michaud (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[16]	January 18–20, 2013	1,268	± 2.8%	32%	57%	12%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Charlie Summers (R)	Chellie Pingree (D)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[16]	January 18–20, 2013	1,268	± 2.8%	39%	50%	11%

Hypothetical polling

With Collins

With Poliquin

With Summers

Results

The election was not close, with Collins winning all 16 of Maine's counties, each by a margin of 223,251 votes.^[68]

2014 United States Senate election in Maine^[69]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Susan Collins (incumbent)	413,495	68.46%	+7.13%
	Democratic	Shenna Bellows	190,244	31.50%	−7.08%
	Write-in		269	0.04%	-0.05%
Total votes			604,008	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

By congressional district

Collins won both of the congressional districts in the state, including one which also elected a Democrat.^[70]

District	Collins	Bellows	Representative
1st	66%	34%	Chellie Pingree
2nd	72%	28%	Mike Michaud (113th Congress)
			Bruce Poliquin (114th Congress)

See also

• United States portal
• Politics portal

• 2014 United States Senate elections
• 2014 United States elections
• 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine
• 2014 Maine gubernatorial election